Introduction NoFap® is a web community that hosts challenges in which users ("Fapstronauts") abstain from pornography and masturbation for a period of time ("fapstinence"). Whether your goal is casual participation in a monthly challenge as a test of self-control, or whether excessive masturbation or pornography has become a problem in your life and you want to quit for a longer period of time, you will find a supportive community and plenty of resources here.

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Read through posts on NoFap to learn about porn addiction, porn-induced sexual dysfunction, excessive masturbation, and what to expect after you cut PMO out of your life. Learn the vocabulary commonly used on NoFap.

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This will probably end up being a huge wall of text, but I'll try to keep it brief. I just really wanted to share.

tl;dr I've had clinically low testosterone for years, and after a 3 week break from PMO I've shown a lot of improvements.

I think I started fapping sometime around the age of 12. It is not something I'm proud of, and it got out of hand pretty quickly. For essentially the last 10 years it's something I had been doing at least once a day. I never really knew anything else. It was a very normal and ritualistic behavior for me.

Fast-forward a few years (high school), I start having fatigue issues. I never have any energy and just generally feel like shit a lot of days. Looking back, it's obvious now, but for essentially all my teen years I had pretty low testosterone. Puberty happened relatively late, I didn't start growing facial hair until I was around 18, I've never been big or muscular. I've basically just been a rather feminine scrawny dude for most of my existence (which I had tried to fix, but lifting was hard for me, and I wasn't seeing solid results).

Fast-forward again to winter of this year, I decided to actually get serious about this issue. I go to a doctor to get a physical (which I needed), and after the exam I express to him that I'm showing A LOT of classic signs of low testosterone: fatigue, thinning hair, low libido, mild erectile dysfunction, mild weight gain. This doctor is an asshole, and he was not going to humor me. He actually interrupted me to say "Low testosterone? No. You're 21. There's no way." After some prying I got him to agree to do a t-count to see where my testosterone levels were, because I told him I was genuinely concerned. A nurse called me a number of days later and, big surprise, turns out I had (now) clinically-diagnosed low testosterone. I was on the incredibly low end of the spectrum for "normal" testosterone level in males. (The numbers that she read to me were maybe something like 'normal range: 45-900 - your result: 83)

It stung to hear. I mean I had had a hunch, but the reality of talking to this nurse and her actually saying they were referring me to an endocrinologist was kind of a lot to handle. I ended up seeing an endocrinologist (who was great), and he ran a few more testosterone-related tests, and gave me a rather intense physical. His verdict was "You seem totally normal, and pretty healthy, and even though it's rare, you DO have low testosterone, we just want to make sure there's not something else wrong with you causing the low testosterone levels." so I had a few more appointments scheduled over the coming months.

Throughout all of this, I always had this sickening feeling that fapping could be contributing to the problem. Unfortunately, I was also never able to bring myself to stop, even though I knew it was an issue.

Fast-forward again, it's the end of March and I'm preparing to go on a trip. I'll be out of the country for 9 days, and it's the first time I've been away for that long in a long time. Long story short, I seriously ended up breaking nearly every one of my bad habits on that trip. It's amazing how little you think about things like jerking off when you're hiking and running around 16 hours a day.

It's officially been one month since I've drank soda, played video games, or had any kind of PMO (I've technically been on hard-mode all of April, even though I hadn't planned on it). I feel really really great actually. I've had no more fatigue issues that I'm conscious of (just some tiredness from lack of sleep, but that feels totally different), and I've had enough energy recently that I've started running! I've always been pretty physically active, but I've never had enough energy to actually feel like just going out to run.

I've also experienced a number of other benefits-

I met up with some friends for lunch who I hadn't seen in maybe a year and one made a comment that my voice and laugh sound a bit different.

I actually STANK after my workout the other day. I smelled of pungent, manly, body odor, which is something very new to me.

There have been a couple of times recently where I was physically aroused just by things like kissing, dancing, hand-holding, which have done basically nothing for me in the past.

I feel like a newer, better person.

Anyway, I had another doctor's appointment last week (around my 3 week mark) and I called the other day to get my test results back. My testosterone levels have apparently improved significantly, to a little over 3 times what they were when I had my original tests. I still almost can't believe it.

It may sound like a total circlejerk (...maybe not the best term to use here) to chalk all this up to NoFap, but honestly, after a month of no PMO I am a healthier, happier human being, and regardless of whether NoFap was the root cause, I'm incredibly happy with where I am right now.

I'm not sure by any means, but I feel like in most cases balding associated with testosterone excess has to do with artificially elevated t-levels? If you take testosterone supplements, or otherwise artificially inflate your t-levels, your body starts naturally producing less testosterone on its own. Therefore, when you stop doing whatever was artificially elevating your t-levels, you don't have much to fall-back on and start experiencing things like weight gain, muscle loss, hair loss, sexual problems, etc.

I'm not OP, hell, I am not even a guy but I feel excessive fapping contributes to this hair issue for women too. My whole life since childhood I have had this thin, brittle, hair. Everyone else in my family has thick hair (except mom, who guess what, likely has a porn/fap compulsion/addiction too) and I just figured I had mom's thin hair genes.

Well two years ago I found nofap and started trying to reach 90 days. I have never stopped, each relapse makes me want to work all the harder. I started taking better care of myself and since I have been cheating myself out of a lot of nutrients (female arousal fluids can't be just water) over the past decade in addition to eating right I have been taking a multivitamin daily since. I also tossed in a vitamin D and C.

The difference is amazing. I haven't been sick like I used to get during season changes, my skin looks better. But the best part of all (aside from fap-related anxiety vanishing) is my thick head of hair. My old friends can't believe that simply taking a multivitamin daily hair allowed me this beautiful head of hair.

What they don't realize is that I am not P/MOing 3-10 times daily anymore.

A lot of this can be chalked up to bro-science but really, our reproductive organs get first priority on our bodies nutrient distribution list, everything else is secondary.

I'm actually genuinely interested in the answer to this question. I read an article a few years back that explored the connection between fapping and hair-loss and am wondering if people here have noticed anything in that regard.

I apologize, I do not :( I searched around the internet to find it, but couldn't. Most sites I did find seemed to agree that fapping=hairloss is a myth, though none of them gave and science or proof behind their assumptions. If I do find it, I'll let you know.

I feel like I can't really speak for that since it's been so little time, but I will say that I got my hair cut pretty short right before the trip and I'm definitely not NOTICING thinness as much now that it's growing back. If I make it to 90 days I'll try and do a before/after of some sort. I wish I had had the foresight to take a lot of "before" measurements, but since I kind of started nofap on accident it was a little difficult. :p

I've been balding pretty significantly for the past 5 years or so and shave my head about every other day. Recently I got lazy and let it grow in for about a week. And I have to say I almost wanted to keep it because it looked slightly fuller.

Pmo is short for porn/masturbation/orgasm. There's not necessarily a direct correlation, but it's somewhat widely agreed upon here that if you are a chronic video gamer AND fapper you have to quit both at once or you're bound to relapse.

Sounds like bunk. I've been a gamer\fapper since god knows when and I've been off the fapwagon for many months. (excluding sporadic relapses between decent streaks). However, I've been gaming the whole time and probably won't stop. I don't really see the negative side-effect of gaming if you enjoy it, other than getting addicted (but then again, getting addicted to anything is bad)

I'd second that. To me gaming, fapping and junk food just went hand-in-hand. I've heard a number of sources describe the interrelatedness of addictions, and it could hardly be more evident to me in my own behaviour.

So glad you self-diagnosed. It's unfortunate you had to do it, but understandable, too.

Can you imagine the doctor's dilemma? If he says nothing, his patient gets worse. If he mentions masturbation, his patient laughs and changes doctors.

Actually, I think the spirit of the age is so pro-masturbation that the doctor risks losing his practice if word gets around. A doctor that correlates health problems with masturbation is denounced as a Victorian quack.

I agree completely, but in this case it was a little different. My new primary care physician (the first guy I saw who wouldn't run the test) is a rather young Asian guy who is very cold and logical: not a very personable person. His specialty is also in osteopathy and it showed greatly in his attitudes towards treatment to a point where it was almost offensive. He's just very much a logical doctor, and to him it's so highly unlikely for a young healthy male to have low testosterone that he found other reasons to explain all my symptoms independently. The fact that they all lined up perfectly with low testosterone was just a coincidence.

Fatigue? You're not exercising enough. Studies show that people who exercise have more energy and feel better.

Haha yeah. I went backpacking for two months and fapped only three times. Mind you I wasn't doing nofap or had even heard of it, just incredibly busy and tiring travelling. It was a significant dropoff without even realizing it because I was used to fapping about 3 times a week.

This is EXACTLY what I have experienced as well. I already feel my fatigue lifting. I've always been a 6'7 scrawny feminine dude who hit puberty late and I can already feel the T levels coming in. This is the best post I've personally read on here yet. Thanks for sharing your experience at the Doctor. I'm looking forward to actually building muscle instead of wasting my time at the gym. Again, awesome post man.

This is actually a huge problem with young males in the western world today. Everyone just still assumes T-levels are what they've always been but you see all these guys in their late teens/twenties around you with lanky skeleton frames with very feminine features, myself being one of them. I think this is gonna explode as a story the coming years.

Great post, and a testament to the fact that it's not possible to just dump every problem in the NoFap basket and hope they'll go away. I love how the OP was already active and exercising BEFORE he began NoFap. Breaking away from PMO isn't a cure-all for a broken life.

I agree. I'm scrawny as hell and fatigued and Always thought is must have been PMO. I was off PMO once on a vacation and I felt so alive it was crazy. I had the energy to practically climb a mountain but when I PMO I can't even do anything like a push up. Now I'm not saying PMO lowers testosterone in all cases but it did in mine.

this is very inspiring to say the very least. im 19 and i strongly believe i have quite low test (insanely low libido, no energy, depression, cant grow a beard at 19 (lol).. the only problem is i cant make it past a fucking week. :(

Incredible story and an inspiring post. You're lucky you're intelligent enough to have got to the root of the issue yourself. I have to confess; I don't have a lot of faith in General Practitioners (and quite a few doctors seem to have a bit of a God complex).

I'm curious: What's your 2D:4D like? (i.e. the ratio of the length of your index finger on your right hand to that of the ring finger). This ratio reflects the amount of testosterone you were exposed to in utero.

I'm wondering if junk food could also be a factor? In any event, it sounds like you're making great progress. My suspicion is that lifestyle changes could result in very significant changes to your testosterone levels.

What a great story. Shows you what doctors know, eh? I've had my battles with them too. You have to stick to your guns when you have a hunch about something. I did, and avoided 3 unnecessary surgeries, but getting 2nd and 3rd opinions. (I think they just wanted to pad their back accounts).

What I got most of your post was this: "I seriously ended up breaking nearly every one of my bad habits on that trip. It's amazing how little you think about things like jerking off when you're hiking and running around 16 hours a day."

That couldn't be any truer. I'll have to remind myself of that the next time I come face to face with self-doubt.

Did you have an test treatment or are you planning any in the future? I was thinking about fapping to get free extra test vials from the doc to help with weightlifting(/s) but seriously could someone do this, fap heaps before a examination and show low test then get diagnosed??

Good job man, I want to remind you though masturbation is not bad I don't know why many people think it is here even though the official No-Fap rules and website state that they are NOT anti fap.

I am 15 years old I have MO since 11-12 and started PMO from 12-15 I had always been stronger and grew facial and body hair from 12 and right now at 15 I am like a full grown male with strength and size, I am also free of PMO.

No matter what the internet said about PMO being okay and healthy I knew it was wrong and was cutting it down my self until I ended up here and removed it completely. At my depressed times I had lost muscle mass and felt less of a man (lowered T) jacking the jack 2-3 times a day or at least once WITH porn I did not have these issues without. If anyone has a different opinion feel free to say it to me I am open for debates.

you stank because you were eating animal caresses looool. you feel like a new person is because you are literally a new person. probably better brain, body, everything. On another note, it's very good of you to do some kind of self diagnosis because some doctors are incompetent, just getting paid by pharmaceutical company to push drugs out. no one knows your body better than... you? Not saying All doctors are incompetent but if you still have doubts regarding a doc's diagnosis go to several to make sure.

Thats the issue with the current culture. We've shifted from having faith in religion to having faith in science so any "scientist" or "doctor" seems like they have factual knowledge of everything. Good job OP for fighting your battles when you know something's up.

A huge one, IMO. I'm guessing that whatever you're drinking has high fructose corn syrup in it. Do some research into HFCS, please... It'll scare you. It's associated with all sorts of unpleasant conditions; visceral fat, diabetes, obesity, hypertension etc.. It's even worse that table sugar, and fucking addictive. Then there's the Aspartame... again research that one and you'll never touch the stuff.

I gave up soft drinks (even juices) when I started NoFap, and won't be going back to either.

I don't buy it. I found my mums boyfriends hard core porn stash at 12 and never stopped batting it . I never had any of those symptoms. In fact, I was muscular. I think you are naturally low on T and fapping exacerbated it. I'm glad you found a solution to your problems but men who fuck a lot lose just as much T as jerkers yes?

Oh for sure. I definitely have naturally low T, I think I was just wringing myself dry of what little I had.

Considering I've been off PMO for a month, and have been lifting and running and I'm still at least 1 standard deviation below normal for T-range, I'd say you're totally correct. It's not hard to triple your testosterone when you're starting that low, but the progress I've made has made all the difference for me.